For Love and Glory
by DryBonesKing
Summary: Blair Flannigan disguised herself as a boy and entered Duel Academy with two goals in mind: to become a better duelist and to enter a relationship with Zane Truesdale. One of those goals was about to be challenged, however, upon meeting Jaden Yuki on the day of her entrance exam. She was not prepared for the changes this would bring to her life. Aged-up Blair. Blair x Jaden


**Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh GX. Or Yugioh in general. I honesty don't really anything. I just own the laptop that I typed this chapter on. Fancy stuff right there!**

 **Author's Note** : Hello everybody! :) I normally will post these notices at the end of the chapter, but I decided to post something here to introduce the story!

It has been a long time since I last had watched Yugioh GX, but I recently got back into the series (as well as the original Yugioh series). And, as I do with most things, I started looking at the fanfiction. I really like Blair's character and the Blair x Jaden ship and I noticed that there weren't many stories with the ship out there, so I decided to take a stab at writing something. I hope you all enjoy it!

Quick notes about the story:

1: All cards will be italicized

2: Blair will be 'aged up' to 13 for this story.

3: The story will not be a straight-up 're-do' of Yugioh GX. Blair's presence will affect things, after all! Besides, it wouldn't be as fun if it was just the same story. I'd like to keep it a bit fresh for you all and give you something interesting to read :)

Anyway, I don't want to keep you all busy for too long! I hope you all enjoy the story!

* * *

' _What the hell are you doing Blair?'_

This was the fifth time this day that Blair had repeated that question in her head. She was currently staring at her reflection in the mirror. The image she saw seemed so foreign to her. Instead of the outfits she was used to wearing, she was wearing a button-up, long-sleeve dark blue shirt that was roughly two sizes bigger than her and black pants. She also wore an oversized grey hat. Her hair was hidden underneath the hat with only a few strands sticking out, covering her forehead. As far as she could see, her reflection resembled a guy… which was precisely what she wanted.

' _I really don't need to be doing this. I can just enter Duel Academy as a girl. Why am I doing this?'_ She continued to question herself.

She still wasn't quite certain about the reasons. She _could_ enter Duel Academy as a girl and still get in. Her scores on the written portion of the exam were high enough and she was quite confident in herself that she'd pass the skills portion and beat the proctor. Her gender would not impact her placement. So why was she going through this pressure?

' _But Zane though…'_ Blair proceeded to shake her head. A slight blush developed on her face as her thoughts shifted. _'I've planned this for too long. I can get closer to him this way. I'll be there soon, Zane. Then we can begin our relationship.'_

She nodded her head in affirmation to herself. This was something she felt she had to do and she was going to stick with it. Today was going to be a start of a new life for Blair. She would be entering Duel Academy and she would be one-step closer to being the girlfriend of Zane Truesdale.

Feeling satisfied with herself and her decision, Blair finally looked away from the mirror. Her eyes focused on the digital clock located next to it. She immediately noticed the time: 1:45 P.M.

"Aren't I supposed to be at my exam no later than two o'clock today?" She wondered absent-mindedly to herself. It took the girl a few seconds before realization hit her. "OH SHIT! MY DUEL IS IN FIFTEEN MINUTES AND I'M NOT EVEN THERE YET!"

Panic rushed through Blair's body. She quickly grabbed her backpack, her duel disk, and her deck before rushing out of her room and out of the inn she was staying at. She then started to run through the streets of Domino City in the direction of Kaiba Land frantically.

* * *

' _Please…'_ Blair prayed to herself.

It took her twenty minutes of straight running to arrive on the Kaiba Land property. She quickly rushed over to a table by the parking lot. Standing at the table were three representatives of Duel Academy. Each of them had paperwork that they were starting to put away.

"Mark all of the no-shows absent." The male representative told his two female co-workers.

"HOLD UP JUST A MOMENT!" Blair shouted to them.

The three representatives looked up in her direction. Blair continued to run as quickly as she could up to them. She stopped running as soon as she arrived and started to breathe heavily. Her legs were weak and she looked as if she was going to fall over.

"Applicant number… one hundred thirty… Blair Flannigan." Blair said while trying to relax herself. "I'm… not late… am I?"

"You're just a few minutes late, young man." One of the female representatives noted with a frown on her face.

A part of her did note the fact that the representative referred to her as 'young man', but she didn't care. Panic, once again, entered Blair's mind as she nearly started to cry on the spot. She clapped her hands together and bowed at the representatives.

"P-Please! I-I was just distracted by personal matters. I got here as fast as I could! Please… l-let me try to pass my duel!" She begged.

The male representative opened his mouth to respond, but he was interrupted by another person's loud voice.

"WAIT!"

All eyes moved towards the sound of the voice. On the other side of the area, climbing up a fence that separated the parking lot from a nearby garden, was a boy with brown, scruffy hair that went down to his neck. He had brown eyes and was wearing black pants, a black collared shirt that unbuttoned, revealing a red shirt underneath. The boy had leaves on his shirt and in his hair.

' _He's kinda cute.'_ Blair noted as a small blush developed on her cheeks. She quickly shook her head, shaking away the feeling. _'But not as cute as Zane! Remember why you're here Blair: for Zane!'_

"I'm here too! Count Jaden Yuki as present." The boy, Jaden, declared as he finished climbing the fence. He jumped to the ground and rushed over to join Blair. "Applicant number one hundred ten."

"Just like we were explaining to young Mr. Flannigan over here," one of the representatives gestured in Blair's direction, "we have already closed registration. You'll have to try-"

"Hold up." The male representative spoke-up, interrupting his co-worker. "If there's two of you, then I think maybe there might have been some things going on. I'll go check with Dr. Crowler if we have time for two more exam duels. In the meantime, have them fill out the paperwork and I'll get things straightened out."

His co-workers nodded in response as he walked off to check with 'Dr. Crowler'. They then pulled out two sheets of paper and gestured for the two potential students to come forward and sign them.

"Looks like I'm not the only one cutting it a little close today." Jaden said with a laugh as he looked over at Blair and extended his hand. "Jaden Yuki."

Blair, relieved to know that she wasn't the only person late, smiled back and proceeded to shake his hand: "I'm Blair. Blair Flannigan."

"Nice to meet you Blair. I hope we both pass today!" He said, grinning at her.

"Ahem. Could you two please fill out your paperwork?" One of the representatives coughed, calling for the attention of the two hopeful students.

Both Jaden and Blair nodded in response and quickly filled out the paperwork. By the time they finished, the third representative returned and gave the two of them a nod of reassurance.

"Dr. Crowler will handle everything. You will have your exam. Just wait until you two get called." He told them.

Blair sighed in relief. The day had already been an emotional rollercoaster for her and she hadn't even taken the exam yet!

"Sweet. Thanks a lot." Jaden told the man. He then turned his attention to Blair. "So you wanna head inside and see what's going on in there? Maybe meet some of the other students while we wait?"

The girl nodded her head in agreement. The two proceeded to walk into the facility, anxiously waiting for their duel.

* * *

' _Two late arrivals? Hmph. I don't know why they should be allowed to take this exam. They clearly don't have the maturity to arrive on time. There's no way they're Duel Academy material!'_

Dr. Vellian Crowler was in a foul mood and had been in one all day. Observing all of the academy applicants' duels was tedious and a waste of time in his mind. Just when he thought he was finished for the day, he was informed about two more additional applicants. He also received a phone call from Chancellor Sheppard that forced him, in his mind, to allow the two applicants a chance to earn their way into the school.

In his mind, he knew these two 'slackers' weren't fit to be in Duel Academy. This was only going to be a waste of time.

' _At least I'll be the one to duel them and I'll be using my own, personal deck. I could use the opportunity to blow of some steam and have a little bit of fun on this terribly boring day.'_ He told himself as he started to smirk.

The man walked down the hallways of the facility, preparing to grab his duel vest and his deck. He was going to give these applicants an exam of 'appropriate difficulty' as punishment for their tardiness.

* * *

Blair and Jaden walked into the facility and quickly scanned the area. They were in the bleachers where the applicants observed the duels of other potential students. Upon arrival, Blair's eyes moved to the section where student-observers were sitting.

' _I wonder if he's here. Maybe he is!'_ She told herself as she looked intently for Zane.

"Hey Blair, you checking this out?" Jaden called out to her.

"Huh?" Blair looked back to her fellow-applicant.

She proceeded to look downwards in the direction he was looking at it. She saw one of the practice duels ending. A boy with black hair just used _Ring of Destruction_ on his own _Vorse Raider_ , causing both him and his proctor to take 1900 points of damage to their life points. The duel ended immediately after.

"Clever move, applicant. Welcome to Duel Academy." The proctor stated.

"Thank you." The boy bowed in respect.

Upon completion of the duel, the boy started to walk away. Jaden had an excited grin as he watched him walk away.

"That guy did awesome! He knew just how to take him down despite the other guy's heavy defenses." He commented.

"He seemed good, yeah." Blair mentioned with an uneasy chuckle. She wasn't going to admit that she had not been paying attention to the duel. She would just have to take Jaden's word that the boy was a good duelist.

"That was Bastian Misawa."

Both Jaden and Blair nearly jumped at the sound of the new voice. They turned around and noticed a boy with spiky blue hair and glasses approach them.

"He's the guy that supposedly got the highest score on the written exam out of all of us applicants."

"Really?" Blair's eyes widened at the comment. "I know I did pretty good on mine, so he must have gotten like a perfect score on his!"

"You did good on yours?" Jaden commented. Blair nodded in response, causing him to laugh slightly and rub the back of his head sheepishly. "I just barely passed mine!"

"Yeah, same." The spiky blue-haired boy nodded his head in agreement. A frown developed on his face. "I have test anxiety, so I couldn't even concentrate during my exam. I don't even know how I won my match today."

"Hey, well, you won, so it's all good." Jaden told him, giving the boy a clap on the back, startling him. "I'm Jaden, by the way. Jaden Yuki. And this is my friend, Blair."

' _Friend?'_ Blair seemed surprised by Jaden's introduction. They had only just met and he already called her a friend. A smile developed on her face at the thought. _'… At least I have one friend so far.'_ She then turned her attention back to the other boy. "Nice to meet you."

"Well nice to meet you both. I'm Syrus Truesdale." He introduced himself with a slight smile.

"Truesdale?" Blair's mouth dropped upon learning the boy's last name. "You wouldn't happen to be related to Zane Truesdale, would you?"

Instantly, the smile on Syrus's face dropped: "Y-Yeah, I am."

' _Ah! Zane's brother!'_ Blair nearly squealed in her head. _'Calm down Blair. Make a good impression! If you become friends with his brother, then you'll have to run into Zane at some point. This could be it! This is where our relationship starts!'_

"Who is that?" Jaden questioned.

"Only the top ranked student at Duel Academy."

The three applicants turned their heads to see the black-haired boy that had won his duel, Bastian Misawa, approach them.

"Sorry for interrupting. I just happened to overhear your conversation and knew the answer to the question." He apologized.

"Don't worry about it." Jaden shrugged in response. "You were great out there, by the way."

"Thank you." Bastian said.

"If I had to take a wild guess, you're probably the second best duelist here." Jaden continued with a smirk.

"Second best?" Bastian gave the boy a confused look.

"Well, actually, maybe third best." The brown-haired boy turned his attention to Blair. "Hey Blair, you said you did good on your written exam. You'd say you're a good duelist?"

"Uh…" The girl blinked in response before nodded her head. "I-I would say that."

"Yeah, I thought so. So maybe Bastian is actually the third best duelist after us!" Jaden declared.

' _How can he know those things? We just met! And we barely even saw this Bastian person's duel!'_ Blair wondered to herself.

She opened her mouth to ask Jaden about his statement, but she was interrupted by a voice over a loudspeaker.

"Will Blair Flannigan and Jaden Yuki please report to Dueling Field Four."

"Hmm! Guess that's our cue." Jaden declared as he reached for his deck and placed it in his duel disk.

"The both of you? Are you both going to be dueling together?" Syrus questioned.

"I… don't know." Blair shrugged in response.

"We'll see. For now, though, let's just get over there!" Jaden stated as he started to rush off.

"H-Hey! Wait for me!" Blair exclaimed as she hurried off after her newly-made friend.

Both Syrus and Bastian watched the two late-arrival applicants rush off. The two then turned to face each other.

"I wonder if they are as good as he thinks they are." Bastian mentioned to Syrus.

"We'll find out in just a little bit." Syrus said.

The blue-haired boy enjoyed the brief conversation with both Jaden and Blair. The two of them seemed like nice guys to him and people he could talk to. Syrus crossed his fingers and hoped that they were as good as they said… or that the proctor would go easy on them. He'd hate to see two potential friends not make it into the academy!

* * *

Jaden and Blair rode up together on a platform and arrived at Dueling Field Four. Upon arrival, they were greeted by a man with blonde hair worn in a pony-tail. He had on makeup and was wearing a blue blazer with gold shoulder pads and black pants. He also was wearing a duel vest.

"Alright, test time." He announced to the applicants. "Alright boys, tell me your names."

"Jaden Yuki." Jaden introduced.

"I'm, um, Blair Flannigan." Blair stated, making an effort to make her voice sound more masculine. She was talking to a staff member – she had to make sure _they_ thought she was a boy.

"Well Jaden and, um, Blair, I'm Dr. Vellian Crowler. I'm the headmaster of the Obelisk Blue Dorm, department chair of techniques at Duel Academy, and have a Ph.D. in dueling." The man introduced himself.

"Department chair? Ph.D.? Wow. That's some pretty cool stuff, teach!" Jaden praised the man. He then let out a slightly uneasy laugh as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I had thought you were some academy mascot based on the way you were dressed."

"J-Jaden!" Blair gasped. _'He couldn't say something like that to somebody in Duel Academy – especially not somebody with all those credentials. What if he gets us in trouble?'_

She attempted to apologize for him, but when she took a second look at Dr. Crowler, she realized that Jaden was right; he _did_ look like some type of mascot instead of a teacher. With that thought in her head, she couldn't resist the urge to giggle.

"M-Mascot! How dare… Hmph!" Dr. Crowler scoffed angrily as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Let's just move on. You two both showed up late, so to save us some time, I decided to save the academy some time and just duel you both at the same time. Your opponent for your placement exam will be me. You will both be granted admission to duel academy if the two of you can defeat me."

"So we are going to be dueling at the same time." Blair realized. "So I take it we'll both have 4000 life points and you will have 8000 life points."

"Correct. If you both manage to drop my points to zero, then you both will pass. I'd suggest working together." Dr. Crowler replied. _'I don't really need 8000 life points to defeat you two, though. I'm using my personal deck and you both are late slackers. This'll be easy for someone as skilled as me!'_

"Alright, if you say so teach." Jaden shrugged in response. "You ready Blair?"

This was it. It was time to duel and earn her way into the academy. Fire burned in Blair's eyes as she turned to face Jaden and nodded her head in agreement. She then gave the boy a thumbs-up gesture.

"I'm ready. Let's do this Jaden!" She stated.

"DUEL!" The two applicants declared unison as they turned on their duel disks. They then proceeded to draw five cards each.

"Duel vest on." Dr. Crowler declared as he pressed a button on his vest, causing it to turn on as well. He then drew his own five cards.

 **Jaden: 4000**

 **Blair: 4000**

 **Dr. Crowler: 8000**

"I suppose I'll go first and give you two an example." Crowler declared as he drew his first card. "I summon _Ancient Gear Cannon_ in attack mode." A machine made of various gears appeared on the battlefield and pointed its various cannons in the direction of Jaden. (500 ATK/500 DEF). "I'll then place two cards face down." Holograms appeared on the battlefield, showing two facedown cards.

"I'll end my turn." Dr. Crowler stated with a smug grin on his face. "Care to show me what you two slackers can do?"

"We're not slackers!" Blair rolled her eyes at his comment.

"No need to defend yourself, Blair. Just let the cards do the talking for ya!" Jaden commented with a smirk as he drew a card. "Anyway, I'll go next, and I'll summon _Elemental Hero Avian_ in attack mode." A green humanoid figure with large wings and muscles appeared on the field. (1000 ATK/1000 DEF). "And then I'll thrown down a facedown." A hologram of a set card appeared in front of Jaden.

"Now it's your turn Blair."

"Right." Blair nodded her head as she drew a card. "I summon _Maiden in Love_ in attack mode!" A young girl with brown hair and an orange, flowing dress appeared on the field. (400 ATK/300 DEF). "I'll then place two cards facedown and end my turn." Two more holograms of set cards appeared in front of her.

* * *

"Whoa, that maiden is really cute." Syrus commented in a dreamy-like fashion as he watched the duel. A slight frown then developed on his face. "I hope it'll be alright, though. I don't know why Blair would place a card with that few attack points in attack mode."

"You don't know that card's effect, do you?" Bastian questioned Syrus. The blue-haired boy looked at him in confusion. "So long as the maiden is in attack mode, it can't be destroyed in battle."

"Ah, I see." Syrus nodded his head in understanding. A frown still developed on his face. "Still, it's pretty weak though. He'll lose a lot of life points if hhe's not careful."

"I'm certain he knows what he's doing. Especially since that's not its only effect." The black-haired boy mentioned. His eyes then moved to Jaden. "I'm curious to see what Jaden is going to do, though."

* * *

"It's my turn now." Dr. Crowler commented as he drew another card.

"I'll activate my trap card!" Blair declared as she triggered one of her set cards. " _Solemn Wishes!_ Now, every time that I draw a card, I'll regain 500 life points."

"I know what the card does. Quite a basic one, if you ask me. Gaining 500 life points isn't that much in the long run." The teacher commented as a malicious grin developed on his face. "Losing five hundred life points, on the other hand, is a bit more serious. I activate my _Ancient Gear Cannon's_ special ability. By sacrificing it, I can inflict 500 points of damage to an opponent's life points."

"What?" Blair gasped.

"The only problem is figuring out which slacker will I attack first." Crowler commented with a smug look on his face. He took a few seconds to ponder his decision before pointing his finger at Jaden. "I think I'll get you back for that comment about being a mascot. _Ancient Gear Cannon_ , send 500 points of damage straight to Jaden's life points!"

The machine on Crowler's field charged up its cannon before firing a blast of energy straight at him. Jaden groaned as he felt the impact of the attack.

 **Jaden: 3500**

 **Blair: 4000**

 **Dr. Crowler: 8000**

Dr. Crowler smirked as he placed his _Ancient Gear Cannon_ in his graveyard. "My cannon also had another ability. After it has been sacrificed, both the person hit by its effect and I cannot activate any trap cards during the battle phase of this turn."

"Huh?" Jaden started to look a little anxious after that word.

"Yes, so that card you have face down is not going to help you this turn." The Obelisk Blue headmaster chuckled in response as he placed a card on his duel disk. "Leaving your little hero wide open to an attack from my _Trojan Horse!"_ A horse that appeared to be made out of wood appeared on the battlefield. (ATK 1600/DEF 1200).

Dr. Crowler proceeded to point his index finger at Jaden's elemental hero. "Now _Trojan Horse_ , attack Jaden."

' _Damn, wish I could activate my trap card right about now.'_ Jaden shook his head. He braced himself for the impact of Crowler's attack.

"Not so fast." Blair shouted, gathering attention to herself. "Your cannon didn't attack me, though, so I can activate a trap card of my own!" She quickly revealed her facedown card. "I play _Defense Maiden!_ This forces your Trojan Horse to attack my _Maiden in Love_ instead of Jaden's elemental hero!"

"What?" Crowler's eyes widened.

As the horse was about to make contact with Jaden's _Elemental Hero Avian_ , Blair's _Maiden in Love_ rushed over and jumped in between the attack. The maiden took the damage, causing it to wince and fall to the ground.

 **Jaden: 3500**

 **Blair: 2800**

 **Dr. Crowler: 8000**

"Due to my maiden's special ability, she cannot be destroyed in battle as long as she is in attack mode." Blair commented with a grin on her face. "In addition, any monster that attacks her gets a maiden token put on them."

Upon saying those words, the _Maiden in Love_ winked at Crowler's _Trojan Horse¸_ causing a heart to develop around its heart. The horse looked smitten with the girl.

"I know of the effect. That's why I didn't target it in the first place." Crowler grumbled. "I end my turn!"

"That was a sweet move, Blair." Jaden beamed at his partner. "Thanks a lot for the save!"

"You're welcome." Blair replied with a smile of her own. "You better make up for that, though."

"Trust me, I will. It's my turn, after all!" Jaden exclaimed as he drew a card. "I play _Pot of Greed_ , which allows me to draw two more cards from my deck."

The brown-haired boy drew an additional two cards. His eyes widened upon seeing one of them. _'Oh hey Winged Kuriboh. Nice seeing you here. Maybe I'll play you a little bit later, but for now, I have another plan in mind.'_ Jaden reached for the other card he had just drawn and placed it on the field. "I now play _Polymerization!_ This will allow me to fuse my _Elemental Hero Avian_ with the _Elemental Hero Burstinatrix_ in my hand."

An image of a woman wearing a skin-tight black uniform with long black hair and a golden hat appeared on the field. Within moments, she and the other elemental hero on the battlefield disappeared before another creature reappeared: a large winged green-and-red monster with a right hand shaped like a dragon's mouth and a left hand shaped like a claw.

"Say hello to my _Elemental Hero: Flamed Wingman!_ (ATK2100/DEF1200)." Jaden declared excitedly.

"Wh-What the…" Dr. Crowler's eyes were, once again, wide in surprise.

"And since that was a fusion summon, I can still normal summon another monster, which lets me summon _Elemental Hero Sparkman_ to the battlefield!" Jaden commented.

Upon playing his next card, another elemental hero, wearing a uniform colored blue and yellow and wearing a helmet, appeared on the battlefield (ATK 1600/DEF 1400).

"Now, _Flame Wingman_ , attack his _Trojan Horse_ with skydive scorcher!" Jaden declared.

The elemental hero flew up into the sky, igniting itself on fire, before diving down and destroying the wooden horse instantly with one single attack.

"Also, thanks to _Flame Wingman's_ super power, you take extra damage to your life points equal to the attack points of the monster that it destroyed!"

"AH!" Dr. Crowler shrieked as he watched his life points drop dramatically.

 **Jaden: 3500**

 **Blair: 2800**

 **Dr. Crowler: 5900**

"Now, you're wide open for an attack on your life points." Jaden exclaimed. "Sparkman, do your thing!"

The elemental hero nodded in understanding before rushing forward and releasing a blast of electricity from his hands, directly towards the teacher. He winced at the impact.

 **Jaden: 3500**

 **Blair: 2800**

 **Dr. Crowler: 4300**

"I guess that'll do for now." Jaden said, ending his turn.

"Punk…" Dr. Crowler hissed.

' _Wow. He managed to get Dr. Crowler's life points down to almost half in just one turn. He really is a good duelist.'_ Blair noted with a smile. _'Good thing I saved his Avian. Looks like we do make a great team!'_

"It's my turn now." Blair said as she drew a card. "And thanks to my _Solemn Wishes_ trap card, I get another 500 life points added to my total!"

 **Jaden: 3500**

 **Blair: 3300**

 **Dr. Crowler: 4300**

"Next I'll play a _Pot of Greed_ of my own, allowing me to get two more cards and increase my life points by another 500 points." Blair stated as she drew an additional two cards.

 **Jaden: 3500**

 **Blair: 3800**

 **Dr. Crowler: 4300**

"I'll then summon _White Magician Pikeru_ in attack mode!" She declared as a small girl with pink hair dressed in white appeared on the battlefield, holding a brown staff (ATK 1200/DEF 0). "Now, my magician and my maiden, attack Dr. Crowler's life points directly!"

The two monsters nodded. _White Magician Pikeru_ released a small beam of light from her staff directly at Crowler. The teacher winced at the impact. He then looked up just in time to see the _Maiden in Love_ hug him tightly, squeezing him tightly in an embrace.

"Get off me! GET OFF!" He hissed.

 **Jaden: 3500**

 **Blair: 3800**

 **Dr. Crowler: 2700**

* * *

"Wow, they got his life points down to below half really fast! And they haven't taken much damage to their own life points." Syrus noted, his eyes moving back-and-forth from Jaden to Blair in amazement. "They really are as good as they made themselves out to be!"

"It seems so. At the very least, they have good chemistry, which is excellent to have in double battle like this. I would actually enjoy dueling either of them myself" Bastian noted with a smirk of his own. "But it's still not over. Dr. Crowler still has points left and it's his turn. And I'm certain he has a trick or two up his sleeves."

* * *

Sitting in the bleachers in the section above the applicants were a group of students that had already been placed into Duel Academy. In these bleaches, a group of three guys wearing blue coats were watching the duel intently.

"Can ya believe it Chazz? Those two are actually beating Dr. Crowler!" One of the guys, a student with glasses and black hair that went out like a drooped spike in front of his face, commented.

"They'd definitely be in Obelisk if they were in the prep school like us." The other guy, a student with brown spiky hair, mentioned.

"Hmph. It's dumb luck. Those slackers had some good draws. Big whoop." The third student, a guy with black, spiky hair and black eyes, scoffed at the praise.

"You sure bout that Chazz?" The student with the glasses asked in surprise. "I mean, they made him lose over 4000 life points already."

"Again, just basic luck." The black-haired student, Chazz, replied as a smirk. "Just you wait. Crowler's got a surprise for them and those two slackers are going to be sent back home to their mommies"

* * *

At the very top of the facility was a balcony where students of Duel Academy could observe the applicants taking their tests. Standing at the edge of the balcony were two students wearing the school blue uniforms. One was a girl with brown eyes and blonde hair that reached her upper back. The second was a boy with blue eyes and blue hair that had three layers to it.

"You know, I didn't think any of the applicants had it in them to do this good. Those two guys are doing pretty good." The girl commented to the boy standing next to her. "What do you think, Zane?"

"They're playing fine, but I'm curious to see what else will happen. I wonder if Crowler's going to be forced to play some of those rare cards he has stashed away in his deck." The boy, Zane, mentioned.

"Rare cards?" The girl repeated the words.

"You've heard of them, haven't you Alexis?" Zane asked. She shook her in response. "Well, you may just get to see them for yourself in person."

* * *

' _Ugh this is an outrage! I'm Dr. Vellian Crowler! I have a Ph.D. in dueling! I can't be seen losing to these slackers!'_ Crowler was raging in his head. He could feel his heart pumping. _'I refuse to let these brats into my academy!'_

"My turn is over." Blair spoke-up, interrupting the teacher's thoughts.

"Then it's my turn!" Crowler hissed as he drew a card. He then played it immediately. "I play _Card of Sanctity_ , causing the three of us to draw cards until we have six cards in our hands."

"Fine by me teach." Jaden shrugged as he started to draw.

"Same." Blair smirked as she drew her own cards. "Especially considering your card activates my _Solemn Wishes_ trap, giving me another boost in points!"

 **Jaden: 3500**

 **Blair: 4300**

 **Dr. Crowler: 2700**

Upon drawing his cards, Dr. Crowler nearly started to beam. He drew _just_ the cards he needed to turn this duel around. He gripped one card in particular as he opened up the slot on his duel vest for field-type spell cards.

"You'll need all of the life points you can spare after I'm through with you." He said confidently. "I activate the spell card _Geartown!_ "

Buildings began to surround the dueling arena. The buildings were made out of various cogs and metal bars. The various cogs were rotating at differing speeds. Both Jaden and Blair were looking at the cogs in interest.

"A field spell, huh? What's it do?" Jaden asked.

"As long as the card is in play, any _Ancient Gear_ type monster requires one less sacrifice to summon. However, that's not how I want to play it." Crowler said as he played another card. "I now activate the spell _Heavy Storm_ , allowing me to destroy all spell and trap cards on every players' side of the field!"

A massive gust of wind rushed over the dueling arena. Jaden and Blair winced as the storm took out both Blair's _Solemn Wishes_ card and Jaden's set _Draining Shield_. Crowler's two facedown cards and his _Geartown_ were also destroyed. When the storm faded, the mechanized buildings that had surrounded the duelists had disappeared.

"You sure that was wise, teach? You just took out your cards too." Jaden continued to question.

"Oh, I'm sure. Especially since the two facedown trap cards I destroyed were both copies of _Statue of the Wicked_." The Obelisk headmaster commented smugly. "When this trap card gets sent to the graveyard, I get to summon one wicked token to the field in attack mode."

As soon as he said those words, two large, yellow, serpent-like monsters appeared on the battlefield directly in front of him (ATK 1000/DEF 1000).

"In addition, when my _Geartown_ is destroyed, I'm allowed to summon one _Ancient Gear_ monster from hand, deck, or graveyard to the field." Crowler was now beaming as he took out his deck and started looking for the card. It didn't take him long to find what he was looking for. "And I got just the one. Arise, my _Ancient Gear Golem!_ "

A juggernaut-looking machine, composed of gears and rusted metal, appeared on the battlefield (ATK 3000/DEF 3000). Its size caused it tower over everything around him.

"Whoa, that's… intense." Blair gulped. Just this last turn, she and Jaden had Crowler on the ropes and had taken out half of his life points. Now, though, he had a monster with 3000 attack points on his size of the field.

"It gets worse from here though… for you two at least!" Dr. Crowler snorted as he then placed another monster on his duel vest. "Now, I sacrifice the two wicked tokens I just special summoned in order to summon my _Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Dragon!_ "

The two serpent-like monsters disappeared in a poof of smoke. In their place was a large dragon composed of the same gears and rust as the _Ancient Gear Golem_ (ATK 3000/DEF 2000). The dragon let out a roar at both Jaden and Blair, causing them both to flinch slightly.

* * *

"Are those…" Alexis turned to look to Zane.

"Those are the rare cards. Crowler actually summoned them." Zane nodded and let out a small chuckle. "I was honestly expecting to see only one. He must be pretty desperate to defeat these two if he's sending both of them out."

* * *

"HA!" Chazz snorted after looking at the field. He then elbowed both of the guys that were sitting next to him. "What did I tell you both? Crowler has this. Those punks just got lucky. There's not a chance in hell they'll be take on those cards."

* * *

"Two monsters with 3000 attack points?" Syrus nearly shouted.

"Yes. It appears Dr. Crowler does deserve his spot as a department head. He summoned both of them in one turn in a very nice move." Bastian praised the instructor. "Having said that, this does not bode well for either of your friends."

"Come on Jaden and Blair…" Syrus clapped his hands together in prayer.

* * *

"This got really bad…" Blair was starting to panic. She had never been in a situation during a duel where her opponent had two monsters with 3000 attack points breathing down her neck. It felt almost like a hopeless situation.

"Wow, that's a pretty insane move, teach." Jaden, in contrast from his partner, was grinning at the sight of the monsters.

"Urk." Crowler winced. He was expecting nervous mumbling from the two of them. Instead, he seemed to have just excited Jaden _more_. "We'll see what you think of it after my dragon takes out your little superhero." The professor proceeded to point at Jaden's _Flame Wingman_. " _Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Dragon_ , destroy."

The dragon immediately flew towards _Flame Wingman_ and opened its mouth. It took a bite at the elemental hero, causing it to wince in pain before being reduced to a pile of pixels.

 **Jaden: 2600**

 **Blair: 4300**

 **Dr. Crowler: 2700**

"And there's more where that came from." Crowler was now grinning as he pointed his index finger at Blair's _Maiden in Love_. "Now, my golem, attack that puny maiden!"

The _Ancient Gear Golem_ immediately extended its fist back before delivering a punch straight to the maiden's face. It was knocked down to the ground hard. It took a few seconds, but the maiden eventually found its way back to a standing position. She was crying as a result of the attack. This resulted in a small heart developing on the _Ancient Gear Golem_ 's chest.

"And before you ask, I am aware that your monster wouldn't be destroyed in battle. I'm also aware that my golem now has one of those maiden tokens on him." Crowler admitted. His grin, however, didn't seem to falter in the slightest. "But considering the amount of damage that attack did to your life points, I think it was quite worth it.

 **Jaden: 2600**

 **Blair: 1700**

 **Dr. Crowler: 2700**

"Crud…" Blair winced as she watched her life points go down. _'This is looking bad. But I can't have it end here! Not when I'm so close to getting into Duel Academy!'_

"Ha! Once again, good move, teach!" Jaden exclaimed, laughing at the situation.

' _How can he laugh at a time like this? Jaden, we are now losing!'_ Blair was so taken aback by Jaden that she nearly shouted her thoughts aloud.

"Urk." Dr. Crowler grumbled upon seeing Jaden's good move. "What's so funny to you, slacker?"

"Nothing's funny. I'm just pumped up! I can't remember the last time learning was this much fun and I was at the end of my ropes. This is an awesome duel." Jaden admitted. "You agree Blair?"

"Huh?" The girl blinked.

"I mean, it's not fun if a duel is easy. Winning feels the most satisfying when it goes back-and-forth. This is what dueling is all about and I love it like this!" The brown-haired boy declared.

Blair wasn't for certain what to say. She was still nervous about the situation that they were in. However, after thinking for a few seconds, she realized he was right. Dueling was the most fun and useful to her if it was a close game. Dr. Crowler was the toughest person she had dueled up to this point. Regardless of whether or not she made into the academy, she had to admit that fact and realized she would be able to grow as a duelist from this duel.

"I… I agree with that." She finally said with a smile as she looked at Jaden with admiration. _'You're completely right. That's the attitude that we all should have.'_

"Well I suppose I am a good teacher." Dr. Crowler spoke up smugly. "I'm so good, in fact, that I have you both trapped. I'd be more concerned about trying to win this duel instead of having fun… _if_ you can actually do that!" He set a single card, creating a facedown hologram. "I'll place one card down and end my turn."

"You're right and we will. It's my turn now." Jaden declared as he drew a card. "I'll switch my _Sparkman_ into defense mode and then summon _Winged Kuriboh_ , also in defense mode."

As the elemental hero switched into a defensive position, a small brown creature with wings appeared on the battlefield (ATK 300/DEF 200).

' _IT'S SO CUTE!'_ Blair nearly squealed. She had never seen the card before and knew she wanted it in her deck.

"I'll end my turn there." Jaden stated. "You're move Blair!"

"Right!" Blair nodded as she drew her card. _'Think positively Blair. Jaden is right; you just have to play this right and we can still win!'_

After drawing her card, the staff of her _White Magician Pikeru_ started to glow, causing Blair to smirk. "Since it's my standby phase, my magician's special effect activates, giving me 400 life points for every monster on my side of the field. And since I have two monsters, that means I get back 800 points!"

 **Jaden: 2600**

 **Blair: 2500**

 **Dr. Crowler: 2700**

"But I'm not done there." Blair declared as she placed another spell card. "Next, I activate _Dian Keto the Cure Master_ , increasing my life points by another 1000!"

 **Jaden: 2600**

 **Blair: 3500**

 **Dr. Crowler: 2700**

"Next, I have two equip spell cards to put on my maiden!" Blair declared as she played two more spell cards. "First off, we have _United We Stand_ , which raises the attack and defense points of one monster by 800 for each monster on the field. And since I have two, my maiden gets an extra 1600 points!"

 _Maiden in Love_ and _White Magician Pikeru_ held hands with each other and gazed at each other with determination in their eyes. The maiden, still holding onto the magician's hand, looked at Dr. Crowler intently (ATK 2000/DEF 1900).

"The second equip spell I'll play is called _Cupid's Kiss_. Now, every time my maiden does battle with another monster that has a maiden counter on it, I can take control of your monster!" Blair declared. She then looked intently at the giant, mechanical golem on the battlefield. "And it looks as if you do have a card on the field with a counter."

"Yeah! Now you can take control of his own monster and send all of that attack points back at him." Jaden noted before giving Blair a thumbs up. "Pretty sweet move Blair!"

"Thanks." Blair resisted the urge to blush slightly as she accepted his compliment. She then pointed her index finger at Crowler's monster. "Now, _Maiden in Love_ , attack his golem and get him on our side!"

"Heh, not happening." Dr. Crowler grinned. "Reveal trap card: _Negate Attack!_ "

The maiden, who was charging towards the _Ancient Gear Golem_ to give it a hug, all of a sudden was blocked by a force-field that prevented it from going forward.

"Clever move, but not clever enough. I knew if given the chance, you'd try and switch my golem's allegiance. But you must remember that I am a Ph.D. in dueling. I know all about those simple little strategies." Crowler mentioned.

"Darn it." Blair shook her head in frustration. She then set a card down in her spell/trap zone. "I place a card facedown and end my turn."

"So close Blair." Jaden told her.

"It's my turn now." Crowler grinned as he drew his card. "And I think I'll start my turn off by having my dragon attack that little magician of yours, Blair!"

Immediately, _Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Dragon_ rushed forward and opened its mouth. It took a bite at _White Magician Pikeru_ , causing the monster to scream before disappearing in a pile of pixels.

 **Jaden: 2600**

 **Blair: 1700**

 **Dr. Crowler: 2700**

 _Maiden in Love_ (ATK 1200/DEF 1100)

"As a result, your maiden's strength just got weakened enough that my golem will be able to knock out your life points." Crowler noted with a smug grin.

Blair immediately flipped over her facedown. "I activate the spell card _Emergency Provisions_ , which grants me 1000 additional life points for every spell or trap card I destroy!"

She immediately tossed away her _United We Stand_ card, causing her maiden to grow weaker and her life points to increase.

 **Jaden: 2600**

 **Blair: 2700**

 **Dr. Crowler: 2700**

 _Maiden in Love_ (ATK 400/DEF 300)

"Hmph!" Crowler grunted. "So you saved yourself, it seems. I can't attack your maiden and finish you off." The man then grinned as he looked over towards Jaden. "However, I can just finish him off. Go _Ancient Gear Golem_ , attack his _Winged Kuriboh_ and take out his life points!"

The golem delivered a punch straight to _Winged Kuriboh_

"And my golem's special ability allows the difference between my monster's attack points and your monster's defense points to come out of your life points." The teacher commented smugly. "That's the end of you, slacker!"

"Sorry, but you're wrong, teach." Jaden admitted with a smirk. "Because you destroyed _Winged Kuriboh_ , any battle damage I would have taken this turn is reduced to zero." His smirk developed a slight hint of cheekiness. "Didn't know about that, didya?"

"I… er… hmph!" Crowler crossed his arms in defiance. "Fine, but you're only stalling this duel." He then set down the last three cards in his hand. "I place these three cards facedown and end my turn."

"That's all the cards in your hand, right teach? Then this duel should be close to being over. My turn!" Jaden declared as he drew his card. His smirk turned into an excited grin. "Sweetness! But before I play that, I think should set the stage nicely. I activate the spell card _Skyscraper!_ '

The brown-haired applicant placed the card into his field-spell zone on the duel disk, causing various skyscrapers to develop in the arena and surround the three duelists.

"This looks like something straight out of a superhero movie." Blair noted as she looked at the different buildings that had just spawned.

"A lame superhero movie, maybe." Crowler mentioned with a scoff.

"Not lame. It's the perfect environment for _the best_ superhero movie. It gives an additional 1000 attack points to any elemental hero that battles another monster with higher attack points." Jaden grinned as he played another card on the field. "And I know just the hero that needs a chance to redeem himself. Now, to get him out of the graveyard and back on the field, I play _Monster Reborn!_ "

Upon playing his card, _Elemental Hero: Flame Wingman_ appeared on the battlefield again. The monster stared at Crowler intently, prepared to destroy one of his machines.

"Not so fast." Crowler grinned as he activated one of his face down cards. "Revealing trap card: _Celebration of Creation_. This card can only be activated whenever my opponent special summons a monster with a spell or trap card. Since you did, my card automatically ends your turn!"

"Wait what?" Jaden's eyes widened in surprise.

"So your little superhero won't get a chance to fight after all." The Obelisk headmaster noted.

"Darn it…" The brown-haired boy shook his head. He then looked over to his partner. "Well, I guess it's up to you."

' _I guess it is too. I just hope I don't screw this up.'_ Blair took in a deep breath as she reached for her deck. _'Come on, I need the right card to win this game!'_ The applicant drew her card and took one look at her. Her eyes widened as she began to grin: _'PERFECT!'_

"I activate the spell card _Change of Heart!_ " She declared as she played the spell card.

"Hmph." Crowler smirked as he activated both of his face downs. "Reveal spell cards: _Forbidden Lance!_ "

Two copies of _Forbidden Lance_ revealed themselves. The golem was now holding onto the lance while the dragon had another lance in its mouth.

 _Ancient Gear Golem_ (ATK 2200/DEF 3000)

 _Ancient Gear Gadjiltron Dragon_ (ATK 2200/DEF 2000)

"At the cost of 800 attack points, I can prevent my monsters from being affected by spell or trap cards for the duration of this turn. Sorry, slacker, but that _Change of Heart_ won't cause my monsters to turn to your side." The teacher said smugly.

"Who said I was trying to get your monster?" Blair questioned with a smug smirk of her own.

"Huh?" Crowler blinked in confusion.

"I activate my spell card on Jaden's _Flamed Wingman!_ " She announced.

"WHAT?" Crowler's eyes widened.

"Alright!" Jaden was starting to grin.

Just as Blair stated, _Elemental Hero: Flamed Wingman_ rushed over to her side and stood side-by-side the _Maiden in Love_.

"And just like Jaden said, when his monster does battle with another monster with higher attack points, _Flame Wingman's_ attack points will go up by 1000 thanks to _Skyscraper_." Blair noted, her grin growing larger. "And even though you just lowered the points of your monsters, they are still a hundred points higher than his. So, _Flame Wingman_ , destroy Dr. Crowler's dragon with skydiver scorcher!"

"No… no… NO!" Crowler screeched.

The elemental hero quickly flew into the sky and charged into the mechanical dragon while its body was surrounded in flames. The dragon let out a roar before it exploded.

"And thanks to his special ability, you lose life points equal to your dragon's attack points." Blair stated. "Which brings you to zero!"

 **Jaden: 2600**

 **Blair: 2700**

 **Dr. Crowler: 0**

"AH, NO!" Dr. Crowler fell to the floor. The teacher felt the pangs of defeat and embarrassment overcome him.

"And that's game. Great duel, teach!" Jaden declared, giving a thumbs up to the teacher. He then turned his attention to Blair. "We did it. Great dueling!"

"You as well!" Blair said as she rushed over to him.

She felt a desire to hug her partner and thank him for working with her, but she resisted the urge and simply opted to hold out her hand. He responded with a high five.

"You won us that duel with that _Change of Heart_ card. Good quick thinking." Jaden told his partner.

"I suppose, but you set all the groundwork for it. You were amazing!" Blair replied.

At that moment, the crowd in the facility proceeded to cheer loudly, celebrating the work of the two applicants.

* * *

"Sure that was luck, Chazz?" The spiky brown-haired boy said to his friend.

"Ugh… of course it was!" Chazz scoffed. "Can't believe that bullshit happened. Those punks better be glad that they had some good draws. They won't be so lucky if I duel either of them."

* * *

"Well they did it." Alexis commented with a smile on her face as she watched the two applicants leave the arena. "Guess this year has some promising new students."

"I suppose. I'd be curious to see how they duel without each other." Zane commented.

"What? You thinking of challenging either of them at some point Zane?" Alexis questioned her friend.

"Perhaps. Maybe one day I will." He replied.

* * *

"They did it!" Syrus exclaimed happily.

"That's unbelievable. They managed to overcome those two powerful monsters despite Crowler's other cards. That's… incredible." Bastian mumbled to himself.

A few minutes passed before Jaden and Blair returned to the bleachers. Syrus immediately rushed up to them.

"You guys did it. I-I can't believe it. You both were incredible out there!" The blue-haired boy praised the duelists.

"Heh, thanks." Blair blushed modestly at the compliment.

"I see you weren't kidding about your skill. I don't know if would call you both the top two duelists in our year, but I have to say you both are up there." Bastian commented with a grin. "I can't wait to test myself against you both."

"Hey, give me a time and place when we get to school and you're on!" Jaden declared.

' _School. We got in. You got in Blair!'_ She told herself, smiling at the thought.

"Speaking of school, since we leave for Duel Academy tomorrow, do you three wish to come with me to get something to eat when this ceremony is over?" Bastian offered. "I had intended to celebrate for myself, but it might be fun to have some company."

"I should be free." Syrus replied.

"I know I'll be free!" Jaden added.

"Same." Blair nodded.

"Good." The black-haired duelist mentioned with a smile. "Then we'll celebrate once we finish everything up here. To a good year!"

"A good year!" Jaden, Blair, and Syrus cheered with him.

* * *

"Wow… what a day." Blair sighed upon returning back to the inn she was staying at.

She had not intended to be gone all night, but Bastian was serious when he meant celebrating. The four went out for hours at a restaurant and an arcade, chatting with each other and talking about their own duels. It was 11:00 at night now and Blair was exhausted.

The day had been long and slightly chaotic, but it was all worth it. She had passed her duel, earned her way into Duel Academy, and made some really good friends.

' _Especially Jaden. He's a really nice guy, a great duelist and partner, and cute…'_ Blair thought to herself with a smile. She then realized 'what' she had exactly thought and quickly shook her head. _'N-No! He's not cute! I mean, he kinda is, but no. He's not Zane-level!'_

With that thought, she quickly changed into pajamas and lied down on her bed. She looked up at the ceiling and started to think about her future.

' _I'm one step away from making a relationship with Zane Truesdale and from becoming a professional duelist… this is going to be amazing!'_ She told herself with a smile.

Blair managed to fall asleep peacefully, somehow. The next day, however, was going to be just as equally chaotic and exciting as today was. A new chapter in her life was approaching and she couldn't wait to see what was going to happen during it.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Hello everybody! :) I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of _For Love and Glory_.

Normally, I'd post a little something here, but I already covered everything I wanted to say in the one at the top of the story. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter though! Let me know what you like and dislike and I'll keep it in consideration for the next chapters! :) I'm trying to create the best possible story for you guys, so every bit of criticism will help!

Anyway, I hope you all have a good day and I will see you when the next chapter is complete! Until then :)


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